I’m happy to report that we’re going to attempt to our dinner and a chick flick plans once more tonight, hoping that because it’s a normal Friday night after Valentine’s Day, everything will go as planned.  So in the spirit of celebrating a holiday dedicated to love, I thought I’d post a sneak peek from a recent engagement session.  Aren’t Cass and Scott adorable?  Here’s to celebrating with the ones you love, on Valentine’s Day and throughout the rest of the year.

Rachel and her sister Nicole’s due dates were literally 2 days apart.  So when January rolled around and their due dates got closer, we were all anxious to see which baby would decide to arrive first.  Rachel’s came and passed and 2 days later, on her exact due date, Nicole went into labor.  After adorable little Siena arrived safe and healthy the next day, we all breathed a sigh of relief that Rachel didn’t go into labor at the same time.  Especially Nicole and Rachel’s mom!  But as the days passed, we all grew that much more anxious.  And while Rachel was more than ready for things to happen, she remained more patient than I’ve ever seen a woman at that stage in the game.  Exactly one week after her official due date, Rachel arrived at her doctor’s office for her afternoon appointment.  At this point I knew the doctor would likely induce the next day, but because Rachel knew she would be too anxious to sleep that night, she decided to schedule the induction for 5 pm the same day.

I originally planned to try to stay awake until I got the call to drive to the hospital, but after midnight rolled around, I decided to try to get some sleep.  This is probably one of the only times I can recall that I’ve slept with my makeup on.  A few hours later, I woke up, clearly too anxious to sleep.  Things still weren’t progressed enough for me to leave, but a hour or so later, I got word that Rachel was dilated to 8 cm!  I usually leave at 5 or 6 cm, so I hurried as fast as I could and even text Rachel when I was near the hospital to see if I’d have time to stop and get a fountain Coke.  She told me I’d be fine and that they would make sure they waited for me to get there.  Doctors waiting for me to initiate the pushing stage of labor?  I could get used to that!  Lucky for me, we had plenty of time once I arrived at the hospital and I had the opportunity to not only chat with Rachel for a bit beforehand, but document all the prep before it was time for the pushing stage to begin.

Rachel and I have been friends since we were 11 years old, so I found myself extra emotional as I drove to the hospital that morning.  When I walked into her hospital room, Rachel was in the best of moods.  And she didn’t even look tired!  Her makeup was on and being the amazing hair stylist that she is, she had french braided her hair to keep it looking fresh.  She looked absolutely radiant and just as she did with pregnancy, Rachel made labor look easy.

Rachel, words can’t even describe how much it means to me that you allowed me to be a part of something so special.  It’s not often that one gets to share something so monumental with their friends, but I feel so lucky I got to share one of the most sacred of life’s experiences with you.  I am so very excited for this new chapter in your life and just as I always suspected, you’re already such an amazing mom.  I love you to pieces and I’m so excited to be Dylan’s pseudo auntie (:

To pass the time, I found this pain assessment chart on the bulletin board and decided to evaluate Rachel’s pain level.  We had fun with it and Ralph participated at well (:  Even during labor, Rachel was still entertained by Ralph’s jokes.  

My favorite part about doing the prep photos was how Rachel always wanted to pretend she was sleeping.  Because that is just Rachel for ya!  Always being silly even when she’s in labor.  I must say, it did make for quite peaceful looking photos (:
One of my favorite moments during prep was when Ralph decided he needed to brush his teeth before it was time for Rachel to start pushing.  Gotta love a guy with good hygiene!The photo on the right makes me laugh every single time.  Rachel was feeling understandbly warm while pushing, so the nurse gave Ralph this chart so he could fan Rachel with it to cool her down.  And he even posed with it for me.  Ralph, you’re such a good sport!
I love to see how men are so supportive with women during the labor and delivery process.  It’s a beautiful thing to witness.Rachel was such a champ during the pushing stage despite feeling so exhausted at the end.  Pushing is a workout!  When possible, I like to get a picture of dad’s expression when the baby finally arrives.  Here is Ralph’s (:  Dylan arrived at 9:44 am weighing 8 lbs 7 oz
One of my favorite moments during birth stories is when a mom gets to hold her baby for the very first time.  The nurses made sure Rachel had her fruit punch and crackers soon after giving birth.  Everyone always tells me how good that fruit punch is (:
Another favorite moment that day was when Rachel’s mom came in to meet her first grandson for the first time.  Rachel told me that’s when everything really hit her.  Emotional moments like these are my absolute favorite and they make me feel so blessed when I’m able to photograph them.   Recognizing a familial similarity!I’ll end with these images of Ralph with his son.  They make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  May your Valentine’s Day be filled with this much love for the special people in your life!

For fear of sounding horribly ungrateful, which I’m not, my allergy suffering soul is definitely going to be happier once the new carpet is in.  And really, I can’t complain.  I’m sitting in my cushy office chair blogging while someone installs new carpet in the next room.  Life really isn’t all that bad.  Oh and did I mention it’s sprinkling outside?  Now that’s assuredly one of my favorite things.  Speaking of favorite things…

1. MAC prep & prime lip primer.  Where has this been all my life?  Whenever I get my makeup done and they try to sell me all those extra products, this is probably the one I rejected multiple times.  By why oh why?!  And because I’m not having to purchase a matching lip liner for every new lipstick I get (folks, I’ve started a collection), it’s quite economical.  I gave it a test run on Sunday with some red lipstick and even after a meal, that lipstick was still on there.  I do recommend reapplying after meals though as it did fade a bit, but still!

2. Kiss on the Chic by OPI.  My collection of OPI will never be complete so I thought it only fitting that I celebrate the Valentine’s season, with nail polish.  I’m wearing a darker hot pink on my toes and this color on my fingers.  I’m always hesitant to wear bright shades of pink on my fingers, but this shade is just the right amount of soft color.

3. Goo Gone.  What would a favorite things post be without a cleaning product?  And this one is changing my world.  Yes, it’s oily and gooey to apply, but when you need to remove adhesive or anything else stubborn, this stuff is genius.  I added a set of heel liners to a pair of new shoes I got for Christmas and quickly decided I no longer wanted the entire liner in my shoes because it made them slightly too small.  The liners left a horrible adhesive residue inside my shoes and I couldn’t get it off.  Not with clorox wipes, not with nail polish remover, not with pledge or by using a razor to try to scrape it off.  So I did what anyone would do in a situation like that.  I googled.  And then I went to Target in search of Goo Gone.  I found it, I used it and now it’s on my favorite things list.  Enough said.  Or should I rave a little more?

4. The Hunger Games series.  Also known as THG for those of us who have become fanatics fans.  After J “borrowed” the first book from me and read it in 5 days while I finished Breaking Dawn, I decided to reclaim my Christmas gift.  After the first 2 chapters I was hooked.  And it only got worse from there.  The last few chapters of the book were so intense my heart was pounding out of my chest as I read them.  I’m even going as far to say it’s better than the Twilight series even though I’ve only officially read Breaking Dawn.  I’m now reading Catching Fire and so, so, so excited about the movie coming out next month.  Hey, there had to be a new series to obsess over because Twilight is nearing the end, right?

Having already revamped our living room/office, painted an accent wall in the kitchen and painted our bedroom, it was time to do something about the decor in the bathroom.  Because our bathroom is oddly shaped with walls that would be difficult to paint, I decided to change up the decor so the room would feel more like us.  We’ve had most of the same decor since we got married so it was definitely time.  The 3 things I focused on for this project were the shower curtain, accent towel & wall art.  I’ve been dreaming about a black and white color scheme for the bathroom for a long time, so the first priority was a black and white shower curtain, followed by some kind of corresponding black and white printed towel.  I was able to find both at Target at a reasonable price point and after some trial and error with the wall art, I found exactly what I needed at IKEA, again at a very reasonable price point!

(Note: All images taken with my iPhone camera)  Here is the BEFORE:

I found a decent black and white shower curtain at Target but when I got it home, I realized it was a few inches shorter than our old shower curtain.  After doing some research on shower curtains, I learned that shower curtains pretty much come in one length these days – 72 inches.  When did that happen?!  So after laundering the curtain, I enlisted the help of one of my friends who is a sewing wizard.  She was able to add a black piece of fabric to the bottom of the curtain and now it’s the perfect length.  She also inspired me to learned how to do some basic sewing so now I’m in the market for a sewing machine.  Never in a million years did I think I’d ever get to the point where I want to learn how to use one, but now I do!

In an effort to keep costs down, I initially created my own wall art using an old frame and a piece of construction paper.  But for some reason I just wasn’t feeling it and kept thinking how much it reminded me of a traffic light.  And because the towel I picked out is reversible, I also decided I wasn’t feeling this side of the towel as well.

After a quick and extremely economical trip to IKEA, I found myself at home with these 2 mirrors and some teal paint from Michaels.  And voila!  Here is the finished product.  It may not seem like much, but every time I walk into the bathroom I smile because it just feels more like me, or rather, us (:

As a wedding photographer, I often base my favorite images on very different criteria than my brides do.  And because I was a bride before I was a wedding photographer, I totally understand the rationale behind it.  One thing I noticed from the following collection of images is that many of their selections are based on specific special moments they remember from their wedding day.  It makes me so happy that I’m able to preserve those kinds of moments for my client.  I am so blessed to be able to take part in something so meaningful.  So before I get all teary eyed and without further adieu, here is the 3rd installment in the series.  Enjoy!

If you had to choose just one photo from your wedding day, which one is your favorite and why?

1. “It’s a toss up between these two. I LOVED the bathtub photos.  Both of these pictures sum up our feelings on our wedding day: sweet, romantic and FUN! When I close my eyes and think of our wedding day, these are the moments I remember.” – Brooke (married 6.11.11)

*Truth be told, these next 2 images were taken by my amazing second shooter that day. I think this just further illustrates the importance of having 2 photographers present and working together at every wedding. Second shooters are able to capture moments in a very different way and enhance the wedding collection as a whole.  Thanks Regis!

“This is me and Cameron in a nutshell. He always makes me laugh and makes me so happy. We are always having so much fun together.”

“I love how romantic this one is.”

2. “Okay this question is so difficult to answer but I would say, this one because you were able to capture our happiness, and love for one another.I absolutely love the lighting and our silhouettes it’s just gorgeous. When I look at this picture that we’ve now enlarged, framed and  hung above our bed I remember that very sacred day.” – Chrissy (married 10.17.09)

 3. “There is no way that I could select just one favorite image from our wedding, they are all simply perfect. However, there are several I just love” – Kathryn (married 10.16.10)

“I remember sitting there. I had so many emotions running through me right before our first look. I was so ready to get married. I think this image encompasses the whole moment.”

 ”I love Jimmie’s face in this one. He was just turning around to see me for the first time, all ready to get married. I hope he always has this reaction when he sees me ”

“SO happy.”

“My girls and I. I love that we are all laughing. So laid back and happy– just the way we wanted it.”

“These two were taken when Jimmie and I were officially announced husband and wife. I was beyond happy. It was an amazing moment for us, and I feel like these images capture our emotion. AMAZING. Thank you for allowing us to relive this moment every time we look at these pictures, Ashley!”

A huge thank you to my fabulous brides (Brooke, Chrissy & Kathryn) who took the time to share their thoughts for this series. I wouldn’t be able to do what I love without their support and trust and I’m so grateful I get to work with such amazing clients.

As you can see, my boards are still a bit empty.  That must mean I just haven’t wasted time working on them yet.  If you’re also on pinterest, come say hello!  Trust me, I need all the pinning help I can get (:

I’m calling them newborn lifestyle sessions.  But instead of the focus being solely on newborn portraits, because heaven only knows Anne isn’t going to be knocking at my door any time soon, the focus is on the family and their life as a whole.  A few newborn individual portraits, images of the nursery (we all know how much I love details!) and portraits of the family together.  That’s the kind of feel I’m aiming for.  If you’re interested in scheduling a newborn lifestyle session, shoot me an email (ashley@ashleyphotographer.com) and I’ll be happy give you all the details.

As promised, here are the images from part II of Stephanie & Dryw’s birth story!  If you haven’t seen part I just yet, I suggest you check it out before reading this post.  It would be like reading Catching Fire before reading The Hunger Games and that’s just silly (:

The twins were able to come home from the hospital just a day shy of turning 2 weeks old and on their official 2 week birthday, I got to photograph them at home.  I’d seen pictures of them up until this point, but when I finally saw them in person, I couldn’t believe how tiny they really were!  I even got a little teary eyed too.  I’m a crier and I come by it honestly.  But enough about my crying, I am going to let these images do most of the talking from here on out.  Because I know you’re dying to see these guys.  Allow me to officially introduce Maverick and Gavin!

I loved seeing how they interacted with each other.  It’s such a unique thing to see newborn babies in this fashion.
When it was time for a feeding, Steph and Dryw got to feed the babies with bottles at the same time.  Then it was time for burping.  I loved their expressions!  Dryw knows exactly how to get the boys to smile for him!Shortly after this, Dryw experienced getting spit up on for the very first time!  And I was there to capture it (:  So we decided it was time for some portraits of just Steph and the boys while Dryw got cleaned up.My heart is full every time I see this image!  So, so cute!!!We made sure to get portraits of just Dryw with the boys as well.  Steph, what are you going to do with all these boys?! (:

Steph and Dryw, it’s been an absolute honor to photograph your truly unique birth story and especially, to photograph all of you together as a family.  Thank you so much for your trust in me and for allowing me to be a part of something so truly miraculous that it still brings me to tears.  You two are amazing and I look forward to seeing you and the boys at more important family events in the future!

Paige contacted me early on about assisting her in photographing Sean and Christine’s wedding,which was scheduled to take place just 5 days before she was due to give birth to her first child.  And because we all know that babies don’t always arrive right on schedule, she wanted to make sure Sean and Christine were taken care of in case baby Kaleb decided to arrive early.  And as luck would have it, he did.  So j and I got to work with Paige’s husband Blake while Paige attended to her adorable little newborn.  And the wedding went off without a hitch.  Many thanks to Paige and Blake for inviting J and I to photograph such an amazing wedding.  And a huge thank you to Sean, Christine and all their family and friends for making us feel so welcome.

The day started at the Biltmore Hotel in LA.  More specifically in the gorgeous presidential suite where Christine was getting ready.  Christine made her hair piece pictured below.  And it was one of my favorite details that day.  Along with her cathedral length veil.  Oh be still my heart.  Christine attached this very special locket to her bouquet as a way to remember her mom that day.  It’s a piece of jewelry she has had since she was little and she told me that the other half of locket originally contained a picture of her dad as well.  She got mad one day and decided to scratch it out.  I loved her honesty and being the emotional and opinionated child that I was (and still am), I definitely related to her story!    Marina Grandy and Sara Scholfield were on hand making sure Christine and her bridesmaids’ hair and makeup looked fabulous.    Christine’s dress was absolutely stunning.  As soon as I saw it, I knew it was going to be an amazing day.
Sean was so effortless to photograph and so easy going.  And although J and I met him for the first time just a few hours beforehand, it felt like we were photographing an old friend.    One of my favorite moments of the day was the first look.  Sean and Christine decided to see each a few hours before the ceremony to allow more time for portraits, more time spent with guests during cocktail hour and a better flow of the day’s events.  When you see Sean’s reaction to seeing Christine in her wedding dress for the first time, you’ll see why first looks are so awesome. J captured the next 2 images.  And I love them.
After the first look we went right in to Sean and Christine’s portrait session but Sean wasn’t quite ready to begin.  Can I just say how I love it when grooms get emotional around their brides?  This was another one of my favorite moments that day.  While Blake, Sean and his groomsmen headed off to ride the train to Union Station, J and I stayed behind with Christine and photographed some bridal portraits of her.  She looked absolutely stunning.Then we all headed over to union station for family and wedding party portraits.I don’t normally post family portraits on the blog, but this was another one of my favorite moments that day.  Just as it was time for me to photograph Sean with his dad, Sean’s dad got a little emotional.  It was such a sweet moment.  Probably one of my favorite family portraits moments to date.  Here is J’s angle…Here is mine.  I also don’t usually post wedding party images on the blog, but this group was so fun.  I just couldn’t resist (:More portraits at Union Station.  Can you ever have too many portraits?  I think not.In most cases, it’s the bride who does the majority of planning when it comes to a wedding.  But because Christine originally wanted a small wedding and Sean wanted a large wedding, Sean was given the duty of planning the wedding.  I think he did amazing job.  Christine, you did good, girl!Yet another one of my favorite moments that day.  Noticing a trend here?  I love how excited they were to get married.  Donaji and Mariel from Event Professionals made sure no detail was overlooked that day.  And Union Station looked spectacular under their direction.  One of my favorite design elements of the wedding is the font that was used throughout the reception hall.    Sean gave a particularly touching toast and acknowledged special individuals who couldn’t be in attendance that day.  And as always, the father daughter dance gets me every single time!  I’ll end with one of my favorite images from Sean’s dance with his mom.  It was completely choreographed and set to the tune of Copacabana.  It was truly spectacular!  

First, let me tell you how I know Stephanie and Dryw.  Stephanie is the twin sister of a friend of mine, Amber.  Amber is married to Justin and Justin and J served a mission for our church together years ago.  That’s how I know Amber and accordingly, how I know Stephanie as well.  But I also know Dryw through association.  He’s the brother of Kathryn & Lyndsey and I’ve pretty much been adopted into their family by now.

Amber and Stephanie are twins, but more specifically identical twins.  Amber already has 2 children of her own, but Stephanie was born without any eggs.  Which is completely crazy seeing as how identical twins are in many respects, identical.  They found out when they were young, so Amber has known for a long time that when it was time for Stephanie to start having kids, she would be instrumental in helping her.  They originally considered Amber to be her surrogate, but ruled that out early on.  So then they were left with the option of in vitro fertilization, which they decided to undergo earlier this year.  Because Amber and Stephanie have identical DNA, they were able to use Amber’s eggs.  The first round of in vitro was very successful and they soon found out that Stephanie was not only pregnant, but pregnant with twins!

When I heard this story and found out Stephanie was pregnant, I knew I wanted to share it somehow.  The story is so different and so unique and so special that it just had to be told.  And because I recently added photographing birth stories to my repertoire, I felt like it was the perfect way to share Stephanie and Dryw’s story with all of you.  So here it is!  Part I of their birth story!

Stephanie’s original due date was January 21st, but after some complications arose in early December, the doctor decided that she would have to deliver early.  It’s common for twins to arrive early, but at 7 weeks early, there were many health issues that had to be addressed.  One big issue was the twins’ lungs.  Because that’s the last thing to develop, the doctor wanted to give them the best shot possible for lung development.  I got word on Dec. 6th that Stephanie was admitted to the hospital for high blood pressure.  Ironically enough, just before I left for my weekly Tuesday night yoga class!  I think I’m noticing a pattern here…all my future birth story moms, be warned!  Thankfully, the doctors were able to hold off until Dec. 9th to deliver the twins so that they could administer a series of injections that helped to mature their lungs.  Technology is just amazing these days.  I know it wasn’t easy for Stephanie to deliver so early or be stuck in the hospital for a few days waiting to deliver without much notice, but she did an incredible job.

The twins had to be delivered via c-section and because this particular hospital didn’t allow it, I wasn’t able to be in the delivery room.  However, I was able to arrive at the hospital in time to get a few photos before the c-section took place.  I think these kinds of images are equally important as they help to tell the story as a whole.  When it was time for Stephanie to get prepped for delivery, I got to hang out in the waiting room with my “adopted” family as well as Stephanie’s mom and sisters.  Amber (not pictured) was able to drive from Vegas to be there for the twins arrival and it was so fun catching up with her as well.They not only entertained me with fabulous conversation while we waited, but they brought me coke from Chipotle as well.  Best family ever!  Gavin arrived at 12:18 pm, weighing 3 lbs 4 oz and Maverick arrived one minute later weighing in at 4 lbs 15 oz.  After the doctor came out to give us the news that the twins had arrived, the family rushed to the tiny window of the NICU to see if they could catch a quick glimpse of the twins.  The excitement in the room was palpable.  And when Dryw came out to fill everyone in on the details, it got even more exciting!Then the hugs started and so did the tears.  Amber, Stephanie’s twin sister who helped to make all this possible, was particularly emotional after everything started to sink in.  This next series of images is my favorite from the entire day.  They never fail to make me tear up.  Because the twins arrived so early and were so tiny, they had to stay in the NICU for about 2 weeks.  The doctors said that only Dryw and Stephanie’s parents were allowed to go in and see them.  Dryw and one of the nurses were able to take pictures inside the delivery room, so Dryw shared the pictures with the family.  This was their first look at their brand new family members!    Dryw also took some pictures of the twins in the NICU and shared those as well.
The family members were also able to see the twins via live cameras in the NICU!  So they made sure they had each twin on a different monitor.  

Because I wasn’t able to go into the NICU to photograph the twins, we decided it was important to photograph them just after they arrived home from the hospital.  And at 2 weeks old, they were still just as tiny!  Stayed tuned for those images and the twins’ official debut in part 2, coming soon!

Perhaps what’s even more exciting is that Rachel’s sister is pregnant as well and they are literally due just a couple of days apart.  Totally not planned to be pregnant at the same time with their first babies and totally awesome that they get to share this time in their lives with each other.  Rachel is having a boy, just like she wanted. And Nicole is having a girl, just like she wanted.  And both of them are totally gorgeous.  Rachel and I recently got together for her official maternity portraits, and she made sure Nicole came along so she could get a few with her.  Seeing their baby bumps together is so adorable!  They’re both due any day now and I am so excited to finally see these babies!  Here are a “few” favorites from the session.

Ralph’s son Dominic also came along for a few portraits with Rachel.  This is my favorite one of him.  I love the way he’s looking up at her.
When we started with Rachel’s individual portraits, Ralph was there to make sure she stayed cool and comfortable.  So he picked up this giant branch and started fanning her.  This picture just makes me laugh.  Ralph, you are just so helpful! We randomly found this adorable little pinecone on the ground.  So of course, I made her hold it.  I told her it was a sign, because I’m just weird like that.  And so is she (:Rachel is also anything but camera shy.  And I love it!

I die every time I see this image.  Rachel, you are absolutely gorgeous!Unlike Rachel, Ralph is a bit camera shy like myself.  But he did a fabulous job for these last few portraits of the day.